Christmas Eve Visitor
by JayCee08
Summary: It is Christmas Eve and someone is at the door. Who could it be? R/S Story.


This is my first attempt at fanfiction. I don't think I am ready to handle any novel length stories yet. This is just something thta was in my head and I had to write it down before it made me crazy. I hope you enjoy it.

**Christmas Eve Visitor  
By JayCee08**

He watched her from his car. He could see her through the window of the living room. She was wearing a cream colored cowl neck sweater and black slacks. He watched as she decorated the Christmas tree that was standing in the corner. He could see a fire blazing in the fireplace.

She stopped and bent down to pick something up. When she stood up, she had something in her arms. It was a baby. He couldn't tell from the distance if it was a boy or a girl. The baby was wearing a red Santa sleeper complete with a Santa hat. He watched as she placed ornaments on the tree while holding the baby. It was probably a baby's first Christmas ornament. She then went and hung a stocking on the mantel of the fireplace. She kissed the baby and bent to place the baby down again. She had a baby. Who was the baby's father?

She picked up another ornament and placed it on the tree. She stopped and looked at and touched it gently. She brushed her cheeks with her hands. She must have had some tears on her face. Something about that ornament made her weep.

She sat down on the couch and picked up a framed picture that was placed on the table next to couch. She looked at it and caressed it. Then hugged it to her chest. He could see her shoulders move as sobs shook her body. Whoever was in the picture made her cry uncontrollably.

He slowly got out of the car. He debated whether to ring the bell or just let himself in. He didn't want to startle her, so as he walked up the sidewalk to the door he decided to ring the bell and wait for her to answer the door.

* * *

She sat on the couch sobbing and clutching the picture frame to her chest. It had been over a year since she last saw him. He had left before Thanksgiving of last year. She didn't know if she would ever see him again.

The ringing of the doorbell startled her. She wiped the tears off her face as she got up to see who could be at her door on Christmas Eve. She had just come home from her parent's house. Everyone she knew had plans for the Christmas holiday. She stopped and took a deep breath and wiped her face again with her hands before opening the door.

She cautiously opened the door. When she saw who was standing on the porch it took her breath away. They looked at each other for a few seconds before she launched herself into his waiting arms. Sobs broke out again as he held her close to himself, breathing in her scent that he remembered from long ago.

She finally regained control of her tears but still would not let go of him. She was afraid that if she let go, he would disappear like a ghost. The sound of the baby fussing made her step away from him.

"Please, come in," she said to him awkwardly as she turned to go back into the living room.

He entered the house and removed his jacket, tossing it into a chair. He picked up the framed picture that was left on the couch when she rose to answer the door. He looked at it. It was a picture of himself with her that must have been taken shortly before he left over a year ago. They were smiling at each other. The love for one another was plain to see in their eyes. It was the picture of happiness. He placed the picture back on the table next to the couch and turned to face her again.

She stood there holding the baby in her arms. She looked at him tentatively.

"I would like for you to meet your son," she said. "Little Man," she looked at the baby, "I want you to meet your daddy." She held the baby out to him.

He took the baby in his arms and just stared at the infant. His son. He couldn't quite grasp that thought. He removed the Santa hat. The baby had dark curly hair and brown eyes. The baby's skin was a few shades lighter than his. The baby was a mixture of both of them. A million thoughts were going through his head. She had his child. He wasn't here to see it happen, to be with her. Was it an easy delivery? Were there any complications? What was the baby's name?

"Babe." He finally said. "He is beautiful."

* * *

She blew out the breath that she had been holding as she waited for his response.

"I named him after you," she said, "I know we both had said that we didn't want any children at one time or another. But when I found out I was pregnant shortly after you left, I was scared. I didn't know what you would say. I didn't know if I would see you ever again. So, I decided that I would keep the baby so I would always have a part of you, if you never came back."

He sat down on the couch still holding the baby. The baby looked back at him.

She sat down next to him.

"He was born on your birthday," she continued. "The Merry Men took really good care of me. One of them always went with me to my doctor's appointments. Tank had me move into your house so there would be more room for all the baby things. He said that the 7th floor apartment would be too crowded once the baby got bigger and got more toys. Then there is the fact that there is only one bedroom. Even if we used your office space for a nursery it would have been cramped. I hope you aren't mad that we are here?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Babe. I would have been mad had you found somewhere else to live. This is where you belong. Here in this house. Had I been here, I would have insisted that you move in here with me," he said.

The baby started to fuss again. "I think he probably needs to be fed and changed and then I think I should put him to bed," she said. "You are welcome to come along if you would like to."

"No, I think I will just wait here for you. This is a lot to take in. So much has changed since I have been gone." He replied.

"Well, here then," she said as she reached under the Christmas tree and retrieved a present. She handed it to him. He looked at her. "It's just a little something I made for you."

He took the present and opened it. Inside was a scrapbook. He lifted the cover and noticed it started with the day she found out she was pregnant. A picture of the pregnancy test showing a plus sign in the window was placed on the page along with a paragraph with her thoughts written in her handwriting.

"I kept sort of a journal so you would know what happened the past year. There are pictures of me every month as I got bigger and pictures of the birth. There is a DVD of the birth you can watch. Bobby recorded it. He was there with me along with Mary Lou. You can look at the scrapbook while I take care of Ricky." She took the baby from him. "Would you like to give him a goodnight kiss?"

He leaned over the baby and kissed him on the forehead. "Goodnight little Ricky. I love you." He caressed his son's cheek.

She went up the stairs to get their son ready for bed. He picked up the scrapbook and started to read what she had written. He looked at the pictures. He noticed that even though she was smiling and looked happy there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. She was missing him.

He smiled sadly when he got to the pictures that showed her round belly. He would have like to have been there. To have been able to touch her belly with his child inside. To feel the kicks of his unborn son. He noticed that she never mentioned whether it was a boy or girl in the scrapbook. Did she not find out the sex of their child until it was born? He would have to ask her. He noticed pictures of his parents and siblings with his newborn son. How did she meet his family?

He closed the scrapbook and sighed. He looked at the Christmas tree. He saw the ornament that she hung when she started crying. He got up off the couch to look at it. He remembered it. They had bought it together before he had to leave. It said "Our First Christmas" and the year. He made a note to get an ornament to mark this year too. It would have to be after Christmas.

He noted the other ornaments that he had seen her place on the tree. He was right. One was a baby's first Christmas ornament. The other had his son's name and the date he was born. At least he would see his son's first Christmas and be there for all of his other firsts: his first birthday, his first day of school, his first communion. He wondered if Ricky was baptized yet. There were no pictures in the scrapbook.

He turned the lights off in the living room so that only the lights on the tree illuminated the room. The fire in the fireplace was starting to go out.

* * *

She returned after a while wearing a bath robe carrying a bag filled with presents. He was just putting more wood on the fire. He looked at her and raised his brow.

"Santa has to come," she said as she started to place the presents under the tree.

He chuckled. "Babe, he is only four months old. I doubt he even knows who Santa is much less know which presents came from him and which came from his family and friends."

"If I am going to be a mom, I need to start doing this right," she said.

"How many presents does one little baby boy need?", he asked as he helped placed presents under the tree.

"Oh, these aren't all for him. Some are for my nieces. Some are for my parents and grandma. Some are for you." She replied.

He stopped and looked at her.

"I wanted to make sure I had something for you in case you came home in time for Christmas." She whispered, "Some are even from last Christmas." Silent tears started to fall down her face.

He took the last present out of her hand and placed it under the tree. He then took her hands and pulled her up and sat her down on the couch. He sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried again.

* * *

"Babe, I am sorry I wasn't here. I am so sorry I wasn't here for the birth of our son." He said, "I am sor . . . "

"Shhh," she said placing a finger over his mouth, "You are here now and that is all that matters."

He leaned in and kissed her. The kiss was deep and full of love.

"I missed you so much," he said brushing his lips against hers. "Thank you for the scrapbook. I wish I could have been here to witness it all in person."

"I missed you too." She responded. "Like I said earlier, the guys took good care of me. Ella made sure I ate well. The guys put together a fitness program for me. Which I wasn't too happy about, but it helped with the labor and delivery and help me get back into shape afterwards." She let her head rest on his shoulder with her hand on his chest still wrapped in his arms.

"You didn't mention in the scrapbook what the sex of the baby was. Didn't you find out when you had the ultrasound?" He asked.

"No, I wanted it to be a surprise. I was hoping that maybe you would be home by then. It didn't matter to me if it was a girl or a boy. I just wanted you to be there. When it turned out to be a boy, I knew right a way that I wanted to name him after you."

"And if it was a girl? Would you have named her after you?" He chuckled.

She swatted his chest. "No."

"What name did you have picked out for a girl?"

"I couldn't come to a decision. It was going to be either Erica Rose or Clarisa Marie."

"Either name would have been nice," he said.

"See. You can't decide either. It is a good thing that he turned out to be a boy."

"I don't know if I would have wanted him named after me."

"Are you mad that I named him after you?" She looked at him fearfully.

"No, I know why you did it. It's o.k. that you did." He gave her a kiss to reassure her that he was not mad at her for the name. "Has he been baptized yet? There were no pictures in the scrapbook."

"No, I have been putting it off. I wanted you there. My mom has been hounding me about it."

"You never disappoint. When did you meet my parents, Babe?", he inquired.

"Tank got in touch with them for me after I found out I was pregnant. I wanted them to be a part of the baby's life. So if you didn't come back, he or she would learn things about his or her father. Seeing that there wasn't much I knew that I could tell him or her about you. They were very wary at first. They thought I was after money. That I was trapping you so that you would marry me. But when I told them that you had set it up with your attorney that if anything should happen to you that he should do whatever it took to make sure I was taken care of."

"No price, Babe. Remember that." He said.

"Well, I could have taken care of the baby myself. I stopped working for Vinnie after I found out I was pregnant. I had a good paying job working for RangeMan full time with good health insurance. I was living in a secure building, rent free in the apartment at RangeMan. My car was in a secure parking garage. So, I would have been able to support myself and the baby. Then Tank moved me out here, when I was about six months along. The house is safe and secure. But, it was lonely living here by myself. I liked being near the guys, but they came out every day to check on things. They brought food for me and we watched movies or played cards. We went out a few times to dinner and a movie or dancing. Tank and Lester took me to meet your parents. They were very nice once they knew I wasn't looking for a handout. I went about every other week for Sunday dinner. I met the rest of your family at different times. At least your mom didn't invite everyone all at once and have them ambush me with questions. But, I did have to repeat myself to your siblings that I wasn't some gold digging tramp that got pregnant just to get at your money."

"Proud of you, Babe. I am sorry you had to go through that. I guess I should have informed them about you," he said sadly. "I was going to take you to meet them for Christmas last year or for New Years. I didn't plan on being called up for a mission. I was hoping that I would have been able to end out my contract without doing another mission. I should have known better. But, I am free now. My life is my own. I just have to worry about RangeMan business now." He added.

"Is that all?", she asked timidly. Afraid that he was going to send her and the baby away or that he was going to leave and live somewhere else.

"And you and Ricky," he answered. He lifted her chin and kissed her again. "I have a family that I have to take care of now."

"Are you sure that you want Ricky and me?", she inquired, "I know this had to come as a complete shock. You and I had just finally committed to a relationship not long before you had to leave. It was just you and me. I wasn't planning on getting pregnant. I am not trying to trap you into marrying me. I don't want to end up like Rachel. I don't want you to be just a name on a check and a visitor a couple of times a year. Are you sure you want a family?"

"Yes, I love you. You have given me the best gift I could ever want. I knew that maybe someday I would want to have a child with you. But, you always said you never wanted children. So, I was just going to wait until you changed your mind. I will have to let my parents know that I am committed to you and our child. That I am the happiest man alive."

"Well, we are going to your parents house tomorrow for Christmas. You can inform them about us. I am sure they will be happy to see you."

"What about your family, Babe? You haven't said anything about their reaction."

"Well, what can I say. They were their usual selves. My mom lectured me when I told them that I was pregnant. She said that I should have stayed with Joe. That he doesn't get called up to do missions for the government. I told her that he still does undercover work and he has to leave for weeks at a time. She said that he would have made sure he was there to see his child being born. Grandma was ecstatic. She said that she knew it wouldn't take long after we got together that you would get me pregnant. Val was jealous because her girls wouldn't be getting all the attention.

Daddy just said that he was hoping for a boy. He always was my biggest supporter. Just like you have always supported me. Lula and Connie and Mary Lou couldn't have been happier. They took me shopping. We had girls night at least once a month. No alcohol was allowed. They threw me a big baby shower. After a while my mother came around. I don't know if my dad said something to her but she was there at the shower. She came to the hospital when I went into labor and even offered to watch Ricky so I could go and get my hair and nails done at a spa. Ricky and I had dinner over there tonight. Everybody was heading to church for Christmas Eve services after dinner, but I chose not to go. I'm glad I didn't go with them."

"So what are we doing tomorrow?", he asked.

"We are going to do the Santa thing, then go to my parents' for brunch and to exchange gifts. Then head to Newark for dinner with your family." She said with a yawn.

"Then, because it is going to be a busy day tomorrow, you should probably go to bed."

"Ricky will probably wake up in a couple of hours for his next feeding," she hesitated before continuing. "Are you staying here or do you have to get back to RangeMan and check in?", she asked meekly.

"I already checked in with Tank. He told me where to find you. Do you want me to stay?" He asked, afraid that she would say no.

She stood up. She pulled a santa hat out of her pocket and placed it on her head. She then untied her robe and let it drop and stood there wearing a short red satin nightie with spaghetti straps and white fur trim around the hem.

"Stay. This is your house." She said quietly.

"Babe," he said. He stood up next to her and took her in his arms. He kissed her passionately. "This is OUR house."

"Welcome home, Carlos. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Babe. It is good to be home."

* * *

He made sure that the fire in the fireplace was out and the alarm was set and the doors locked. She made sure that the video camera was set up and the digital camera was ready for the morning gift opening. She put out the milk and cookies for Santa. He took a bite out of one of cookies and took a sip of milk so that it looked like Santa was there. She smiled at him. He then took her hand, kissed it and they headed up the stairs to check on Ricky before going into THEIR bedroom.

THE END


End file.
